Author's Note

Keep your murderous thoughts to yourself, and smile and wave to your enemies that don't know it.

XI

“Sunset Shimmer?” Asks the eldest of the three, “She was reported missing over seven hundred years ago. Surely she is dead now Dark Prince.” I growl as my anger surges forth.

“THIS BLADE TELLS US OTHERWISE!!!” We say with our magically amplified voice.

“A blade that could have been recreated as a copy milord.” The prime aged says.

“WE KNOW EVERY SINGLE CURVE, SCRATCH, AND SPARKLE THAT THIS BLADE HAS!!!” We refute with slightly narrowed eyes.

“And the three of us are saying that your sister is either dead or gone from Equis as our magic can’t find her.” The youngest reasons with us, causing us to pause.

“What doest thou mean thou can’t find her with magic?” We ask him as our anger begins to falter with their reason.

“When your sister went missing, the remaining necromancers tried to find her in any way possible. Nothing we did, none of the spells any of us knew, learned, or created would tell her location no matter how vague or precise we were. None of us could find one hair from her coat, or even one drop of her life fluids. It was as if she disappeared from the world all together.” The eldest tells me with calm wisdom in his serpentine eyes, causing me to think on this before calming down.

Hearing their words, my magic inhibiters activate, and my mane returns to its calm flowing black and silver locks. My eyes stop stinging, and my muscles relax as my emotions return to normal.

‘(There is something wrong with the dagger Osiris.)’ Dream whispers in my head. I look down to the dagger to see that it was indeed not my sister’s knife, but a fake. The crystal was glamored with a spell, and the grain in the hilt is off, it was also slightly heavy.

“Something is wrong.” I echo as my eyes scrutinize the fifteen centimeter long blade. The blade itself had turned black like it should have, but it was off. It wasn’t quite a pure pitch black.

“Find me a solar pony young one. Make sure they are a unicorn.” I say before waving one of the few nightshift maids over to me.

“How may I be of service Prince?” The maid asks me with a deep head bow, and small smile.

“Find three open lunar rooms for these three to stay in until further notice. They are guests of mine.” I tell the earth pony mare. She bows one more.

“As you say Prince.” She says before waving the other two necromancer ponies to follow her.

“Rest for a few hours my ponies, I’ll call for you when I confirm my thoughts, and move to deal with this issue.” I tell the two adult necromancers.

“Until then Dark Child.” They say in unison before bowing low, and following the young mare.

“Here is the unicorn you wanted milord.” The younger necromancer says as he returns with a solar unicorn guard in his wake.

“Ah thank you dark one. I trust you know where your elders are?” I ask him. He nods, and I dismiss him with a smile. He returns my smile before bowing, and leaving.

“You needed something Prince?” The guard asks before swallowing a yawn.

“I just need you to levitate this blade for a few seconds.” I say as I hold up the blade for him to see. The guard blinks before his horn lights in a grey aura before the dagger lifts from my hand.

I look over the blade as it slowly turns to silver before the illusion spell fails, and it returns to a natural steel grey for most metal weapons. The glamor on the dagger failed as well, showing that it was just enchanted to look like my sister’s dagger. I give a short laugh before grabbing the knife out of the air.

“Thank you, fair guard. You are dismissed for the night, and don’t worry about finding a replacement. I will be watching over the palace tonight.” I tell the tired unicorn. He smiles before saluting me as all solar ponies do, and my smile falters slightly.

“Correct your salute.” I tell him. He looks confused for a couple seconds before he snaps back to attention. He then puts his right hoof over his heart, and bows his head.

“My apologies Prince.” He tells me. I nod with a small smile.

“Accepted, and forgiven. Now move along.” I say before walking away. I tighten my grip on the handle before shouting, and stabbing it into the solid stone wall to my right. The nearby ponies cringed at the terrible shriek the dagger made.

“Whoever dared to send me this knife is going to die.” I growl quietly.

‘(Calm yourself Osiris. You are gathering attention.)’ Dream tells me. I take notice of the frightened guards on the other side of the hall, guarding the doors to the arcane library.

I growl before using some magic to tear the dagger from the stone with another horrible shriek from the poorly made weapon. I then turn to calm my subjects.

“Worry not ponies, my anger is for something of unimportance.” I say before stalking off. My destination was the gardens. I heard the guards whisper to each other before I rounded a corner.

My pace ever so slowly accelerated as my anger returns, and soon I find myself blazing my way through the corridors. I burst out into the courtyard, and out past the statues near the labyrinth.

I skid to a stop at a balcony that overlooked the valley with Ponyville in its center, looking like a splatter of twinkling lights in a vast pool of darkness. It calmed me as my mind searched the vast expanse for answers.

I sigh as the cool summer air flows over me. The rustle of the labyrinth’s hedges sooth me as well, and I just stood there listening to the sounds of the night. I could hear one of the fountains faintly in the background, and the crickets were chirping. I close my eyes to listen even more intently.

“Are you okay my son?” I jump and see that my mother had landed next to me.

“No…someone gave me a message after the necromancers and I left the arcane chamber, only for me to find that it was a fake, an almost perfect one, but a fake none the less.” I say as I let the dagger in my hand fall to the ground. It made a small clatter that hushed the nearby crickets for a few seconds.

“A dagger as a message?” Mother says as she picks up the poorly made weapon up with her magic. Her magic gently tingling, adding a new sound to the music around us.

“It was how Sunset Shimmer said she wanted to see me when we were both nine.” I answer before she floats the dagger back to me. I slip it into my belt carefully.

“Tis a dagger, how is it a fake?” She asks me. I sigh as dredge up old memories.

“Mine sister’s dagger would change appearance depending on whether a solar or lunar mage held it. It would shine and shimmer pristine white when Sunset held it, and seemed to consume light as a pitch black whenever I did. This is how we knew it was authentic.” I say as my memory plays in my mind, causing me to smile lightly

“Son, thou said thine sister, how is that so?” Mother asks me. I chuckle a few times.

“Sunset Shimmer wasn’t any child of yours my dear mother, nor was she related to me in any way. It was just how close we were. She was like a sister to me, and I, a brother to her.” I answer. Luna nods a few times before draping one of her wings around my back.

“We have heard from Silver about thy feelings about her. Is there somepony that has thine eye?” Mother asks me. I sigh and hang my head.

“I do not know, but I suspect it is one of the element bearers.” I say before wrapping my right arm around her shoulders. We stayed this way for a small time, watching the stars twinkle, and the shadows dance. The music of the night played gently in our ears as we looked at the still beauty of the moonlit country below.

“Let us go inside, we can talk more, my child, where it is warm.” My mother says, before she starts to walk back to the castle. I stay for a few seconds longer, staring out into the dark cool night, before following her inside. I shudder as the heat from the palace washes over me.

I follow my mother to her chambers without much difficulty. I notice that she glances at Dream, who is on my forearm at the moment.

“When did thou obtain this new accessory?” She asks me.

“I received it from the messenger before we augmented Captain Claymore.” I tell her, lying without much worry. She seems to accept it before her magic grabs my arm, and attempts to take off Dream Weaver.

‘(Prince, I must hide!)’ Dream shouts in my head.

‘(Inside my head, then just rest there until mother is done looking at you.)’ I say to the mare of dreams.

“Why does it not come off Osiris?” Mother asks me as she looks over the verrabrace with interest.

“It does, I just need to do it with my hands.” I tell her, stalling for the entity inside of me. Luna rotates my wrist to look at the underside, and the cyan jewel melts into my arm before I feel a small chill travel through my body, and into my head.

“Show us then.” Mother says as she releases her hold on my arm.

‘(Push the recess I left on the brace where the jewel was.)’ Dream says in my mind as a whisper. I blink before doing as she said. I push the recess on the brace, and it gives a light whirl of moving parts before it expands outward from my wrist. I slide it off of my wrist, and hold it in my right hand.

“Ah, okay, now tell me where the gemstone went.” Luna has her eyes narrowed at me in suspicion.

‘(Put me back on your wrist.)’ Dream says before I feel her move down to my wrist, hiding behind my flesh from my mother.

“It acts like a key.” I say as I slide the brace back onto my arm. I watch as it slowly tightens until it just barely squeezes my skin, and after a few seconds Dream, as the cyan gem, slides back up into her place.

As soon as the verrabrace clicks with Dream back in her spot, without worry of being caught, I nod at the mechanical whirl my passenger gives off.

“See?” I ask mother with a blank expression as though Weaver were an actual piece of my armor.

“Tis the work of an elven smith I see.” She replies with her eyes returning to normal.

“Yes, the messenger gave this to me before I turned Captain Claymore into a vampony; I believe I have told you this already.” I say as we both sit on her long wrap-around couch; placed in front of her fireplace. She nods a couple times.

“So that was what the other elf was, I knew his clothing was familiar, but I was not sure.” Luna says as she removes her regalia hoof-shoes before lighting her horn, causing the fire crystals to ignite in the fireplace.

I smile with a sigh as we rest together, similar to what we did a thousand years ago. We stay this way, watching the purple and blue flames dance up into the enchanted chimney.

“I missed doing this.” I say as I relax a bit more. Luna sighs with a smile on her lips.

“So did I.” Mother says from her laying position. Before either of us could relax even further, there is a knock on the doors.

“I’ll get it.” I say as I stand back up grimacing at the bad timing of whoever was on the other side of the large black doors.

“Yes?” I ask as I open the right door. There was a highly ranked solar guard on the other side.

“Prince,” the guard says with a short bow, “There is somepony in the throne room that requests to see you.” The guard tells me.

“What race are they?” I ask him.

“She said she was a dryad.” He replies to me. My eyes widen in shock.

“Art thou absolutely sure?” I ask him. He nods to me before I bolt out of my mother’s chambers, and swiftly make my way to the throne room.

‘(Osiris, why are you so worked up over a dryad?)’ Dream asks me as I dash through the corridors of the palace.

‘(If what is in the throne room is an actual dryad, there is a very high possibility that she knows where she is.)’ I reply as I skid to a halt in front of the throne room doors.

‘(And if they are not?)’ She asks me. I shake my head to lose those words. I take a deep breathe, and open the door to the throne room.

“My apologies if you have been waiting long.” I say to the slender elven shaped being that was waiting for me in front of the throne. The clothing the nymph wore seemed to be made from spider silk, and seemed to flow similarly to an alicorn’s mane.

“So what the elves have said is true.” The tree nymph says before bowing her head to me, “My name is Egress.” She then places her right hand over her heart, and giving a small curtsey.

“Before we get any further along in this meeting, I must know if you are what you claim to be..” I say, giving a respectful nod to her.

How may I show evidence of my species?” She asks me. I think for a few seconds before remembering that Dryads will avoid physical contact unless approached with complete submissive actions.

“Please, take my hand.” I tell her as I hold my dominant hand open to her. I see her eyes twinge with a dryad’s natural defenses. This gives me some assurance that she is what she claims to be.

“I won’t harm you.” I say gently, taking a kneeling position, similar to when elven propose to one another. Her eyes widen at the traditional stance I took, showing complete surrender of my aggressive nature.

She ever so slowly reached her hand forward. It took a whole minute for her hand to ever so gently land on mine. I bow my head as thanks to her, and she whimpers almost silently. When I raise my head, I see that she is smiling gently at me with a slight fear in her eyes, which is natural to all dryads.

“You have shown me all the evidence I need to know that you are a true Sylvian.” I tell her as she removes her hand from mine with grace that only dryads have.

“I can understand your need to be sure.” She tells me with a smile, “But onto the actual reason why I am here.” She reaches up to one of the flowers in her hair, and pulls a closed flower bud from her emerald locks. I tilt my head slightly, knowing what the flower bud was, but confused on why I was receiving one.

“Who is this from?” I ask her. I watch as her smile slowly fades.

“A friend that heard you had awoken from your long slumber.” She says before she blows on the flower bud causing it to float to me.
I catch it in my right hand, and watch it open with nymph magic. The flower begins to glow with the delayed message that it contained.

“Osiris,” My old dryad friend sounded as young as ever, “I hope that you truthfully are awake once more, as we need your help. The dryads are starting to die off rapidly, and we need you to find out why. I have suspicion about the mother tree, and would like for you to check on it for me, as I am needed here to keep the few of us alive. Please be swift my friend.”

“But…” My eyes widened as the flower closes back up, and I look to Egress to see her worried eyes being covered by her happy mask. I notice that her skin seams slightly aged, a very negative site to behold of a wood nymph.

“You may want to cover your ears.” I warn her as my concern takes over my mind. She puts her hands over her long pointed ears before I took in a deep breathe.

“COGET NOCTURNAS!!!” I shout as loud as possible in the royal Canterlot voice. It was all but one second before my mother, Tinnuchon, Silver, and the three necromancers teleported into the throne room with a mixture of emotions. After a couple more seconds, Celestia and a few old wizened unicorns teleport in with bright snapping flashes.

Before I could say anything the throne room doors burst open, and ten solar guards, followed by Captain Claymore, rush into the room to see what was wrong.

“Osiris, what in the depths of Tartarus are you doing using the voice at this hour?” Celestia asks me.

“The dryads are in trouble, and are dying at an alarming rate. I need to find the tree of harmony NOW!” I say raising my voice as I said it.

My mother, Tinnuchon, and Silver all had wide eyes at what I said, and Celestia looked confused.

“What does the tree of harmony have to do with the dryads dying?” She asks me. I look to Egress with pleading, concerned eyes, and she sighs.

“The mother tree, or tree of harmony, is what my people were originally born from, and as the tree’s health withers, or flourishes, our people do as well, only on a larger scale.” She tells the others.

“But the last time we saw the tree was when we acquired the elements from it to defeat Discord.” Luna says in speculation.

“You violated the sacred tree?!” Egress shouts at my mother. Her anger only rivaled by my own when I have the largest thirsts for the blood of those who fought me.

“Egress, calm down, it was either they use the elements on Discord, or let him reign over Equis in eternal chaos.” I say to the slender nymph. Said nymph turns her gaze to me.

“It is forbidden for anyone to remove the seeds from the mother tree!” She counters.

“Unless it’s our only option for survival!” I finish in a shout. She shut her mouth at that, as she knew I was correct, and there was nothing she could say, else she go against the laws of magic that bound all dryads to the tree.

“Milord, we need to find the tree soon, or the dryads will perish from this world.” Tinnuchon tells me quickly. I look to him before looking back at Celestia. She was tired beyond what any of us feel at this moment.

“I need to know where it is.” I tell her in a flat tone, feigning anger.

“The tree is-*yawn*…in a cavern beneath the ancient castle. You will need Twilight and the others to heal the tree of harmony if it is dying; otherwise there is nothing any of us can do.” She says before yawning slightly into her hoof. I sigh in frustration before gathering my magic, and stretching it out towards Ponyville in search of the element bearers.

The first one I found is Rainbow Dash, as she was on her way here at a rather impressive speed. I then sense Twilight Sparkle in her treebrary, and the others were found rather quickly after that.

I growl as I draw even more power from myself, and then silently teleport the elements here into the throne room, causing Rainbow to fly straight into the walls, and the others to be set down in their sleeping positions. My mind calms slightly at the sight of my new friends.

“Ow.” I hear Rainbow groan out as she slides down the wall in pain. Before much else could be done all of the ponies wake up as I force neutral magic through their bodies.

“Mmmm, wha?” Twilight asks as she slowly stands up from her curled position on the chilling stone floor of the throne room.

“Wake up Twilight, I need all of your help.” I tell the tired unicorn as she stretches.

“Okay Osiris…” Twilight’s eyes slam open as she registers who told her to wake up. She looks around the room in slight shock before her eyes settled on mine for a few seconds.

“We need your help.” I say to the now very awake purple unicorn. The other elements look to me in shock, or anger.

“Beg yer’ pardon Prince, but, could it have waited until daylight?!” Applejack asks me with slight anger. I narrow my eyes in anger.

“Innocents are dying as we all waste our time talking.” I counter with venom, “Now listen, I need the elements of harmony to save those in danger, but since you six are the ones connected to them you will all be coming with me.” I say as I teleport the mannequin that is holding my armor to me.

“Alright, but where are we going?” Rainbow asks as she joins the group. I glance at my aunt.

“To the ancient castle.” Celestia says for me, “A relic that is older than me and my sister combined is causing these deaths. You all must accompany Osiris, and those he takes with him to see if you can repair it.” I nod in approval as I start to dress in my armor.

“Fifrath, you may go back to your home if you wish. You three will be coming with.” I say, the last sentence directed at the three necromancers.

“But of course milord.” The four I spoke to reply. I nod as Tinnuchon teleports back home, and the three necromancers step forward, and un-light their horns, assisting me with my armor.

“Guards!” I shout to get their attention, “return to your posts.” The solar guards bow before leaving the throne room.

“Prince, we must hurry.” Egress says as I finish equipping my armor. I look to her, to see her health has degraded even further. I nod firmly, before I begin gathering my magic.

“Then let us leave. Those that are going with, gather around me.” I say to the remaining ponies. Egress was already at my side in her withering state, and the necromancers were the first to come forward.

Rainbow Dash floated on her draconic wings over above the necromancers, and the rest of the elements hesitantly gathered near me.

“We will return within this night’s hours.” I say as I gather large amounts of arcane energy before surrounding my group with it, and teleporting back into the forest that has overtaken my original home.